A Day As Annabeth
by Horch
Summary: Let's leave Percy for a while, and let's go to Annabeth. Let's be Annabeth for a day...and that day is when she met Percy. Percabeth, rated K-plus for minor insults and curses.


I woke up, feeling a rather curious emotion—was it happiness? It seemed connected to my dream. A certain picture formed in my mind. It was a boy, about my age, with sea-green eyes and dark hair. In the dream, his name was Percy.

"_Percy and Annabeth, sitting in a tree," the campers chanted. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"_

_I turned a violent shade of red. Percy, that boy, just laughed. "Well, Annabeth? Are you just going to let them chant like that?" he asked me. "Are you going to kiss me or what?"_

"_Not in a million years, Seaweed Brain," I informed him. He looked a little disconcerted. I felt sorry for the poor guy, but I'd never kiss him, not for a million drachmas._

All demigods have dreams. It's normal, but not exactly comforting. I mean, Luke—my friend in the Hermes cabin—had many of them. They were all horrifying. I pushed the thought out of my head as I stood up and 'checked' my trunk, the usual routine. You know, check if any of my—siblings, I guess you'd call them—went through them last night.

To this day, I still wonder why I do this. Who, in their right mind, would touch my trunk, let alone pry through it? It's a mess—and I'm not exaggerating. As a child of Athena, I'm expected to be 'neat', as it is the 'representation' of the mind. But everyone has flaws, right?

I walked out of the cabin. Most of my siblings were already awake, but some of them were still lying helplessly on their beds, their sheets strewn across the floor. _Don't worry,_ I told myself. _They'll fix that when they wake up._

I headed over to the pavilion, where all the half-bloods should be having breakfast. I have always admired the buildings in Camp Half-Blood, like the pavilion. Though it's not my favorite kind of building—my favorite's the Big House—the pavilion's architecture is admirable.

Most campers would say, 'It's just a tent.'

But I would reply, 'No, it's not just a tent. I mean, look at it…' and I'd babble all about the architectural pros and cons of the pavilion, with nobody actually understanding me.

Well, I suppose that's how it's supposed to be like when you're a brain child.

I went over to the food, and placed a lot of meat in it. I can't say I dislike meat. Oh, I especially love the brisket. I took my plate and fell in line with the other campers. The girl in front of me, Marrie, daughter of Hermes, said, "Hermes."

It was my turn. "Athena." I said, dumping a large piece of juicy brisket. Gods love the smell of it. I walked away, to the Athena table. I must sit with my cabin and not with anyone else. Camp rules.

After breakfast, I headed out to archery, where our director, Chiron, would be teaching us how to handle a bow and arrow. Personally, I've never been good at archery, but everyone needs to improve on something. Anyway, Chiron was on leave until yesterday. He did get back yesterday, but he looked like he was preoccupied with something.

"Hi, Annabeth," my half-brother, Corey, said. "Your bow and arrows are over there." He pointed to a bow and a sheath of arrows on the shelf. I nodded.

"Thanks Corey."

"No problem."

We spent the rest of the morning on archery. It was quite fun, though I could have spent that time reading my new book on Greek architecture. Oh, well. I suppose it wasn't a total waste of time.

Lunchtime. Same routine. Get food, deposit food in brazier, and eat food. One eventually gets bored of it, but it's really necessary. Well, you could stop giving food to the gods, and risk terrible punishment from the gods for being a stingy hog.

"So, Annabeth, where are you going after this?" my half-sister, Angela, asked me. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll go over to the strawberry fields and read a book." I replied. Well, I'm still unsure of that. A normal day in Camp Half-Blood—like today—would mean satyrs—who are not on some dangerous mission looking for Pan—would be chasing the nymphs and trying to kiss them.

Well, I could say I was true to my word. I entered the strawberry fields with my books and sat down in a nice patch of grass, surrounded by truckloads of growing strawberries.

I was almost halfway through the book when I saw Chiron galloping towards me. I frantically thought: w_hat had I done wrong? _Nothing much. I woke up, I ate breakfast, I did some archery, I ate lunch and here I am. The worst that could happen is that I had 'disappointed' Chiron and did not meet his 'expectations' in archery.

As Chiron galloped towards me, I became more and more nervous. Chiron was not carrying his bow and arrows, so it's definitely not about archery. Did something go wrong? _Of course, you idiot,_ I told myself. _If something did not go wrong, Chiron, who is a very busy centaur, would not be galloping towards you._

He reached me. "Good afternoon, Annabeth. Ah, I see you've been reading. Well, I'm sorry to bother you, but a boy has been attacked by a Minotaur. We need your help right now."

I shut my book. "Hi, Chiron. How're you?"

"Alright. Anyway, there's no time for idle chitchat. A boy has just been attacked by a Minotaur!" he replied hotly. "Come, Annabeth. We need your help."

I eyed him carefully, to see if he was joking. He clearly was not. But I stifled a laugh anyway. "Ha. Very funny, Chiron. But we haven't seen a Minotaur…in what, a hundred years?" I said. I picked up a book in the pile, _Greek Creatures and Monsters,_ and flipped to a page. It showed a full-color photo of the Minotaur.

I pointed to some words in ancient Greek. The author was a demigod, so naturally it would be. "'_The Minotaur has not been sighted in more than a hundred years.'"_ I quoted, still pointing to the words. A normal person wouldn't be able to read that—their brains aren't hardwired for ancient Greek. I still wonder how it became a New York Times bestseller.

"Yes, Annabeth, that is true, but I'm afraid I'm not joking. Come on, the boy's in critical condition." Chiron urged. I sighed, not bothering to roll my eyes.

But I replied, "Fine."

"Then ride on my back," Chiron advised. He lowered his back, and I climbed into it, my books in my arms. We rushed through the strawberry fields, but the centaur was careful to avoid stepping on a strawberry bush. Soon, the Big House appeared. We continued hurrying toward it until we reached the porch. A boy with dark hair and green eyes was lying there, limp and still. He was clutching a horn in his hand. I looked down at him.

"He's the one. He must be." I told Chiron.

But he only silenced me. "Silence, Annabeth," he said. "He's still conscious."

"He's in the guest room." Chiron informed me. I nodded, but paused to ask one more question.

"Why did you call me? Why didn't you call an Apollo medic or something?" I asked.

He just shrugged. "I'm afraid they are preoccupied with…other matters." Chiron said. "They are aiding the other campers in archery. Anyway, this boy…you have to see him." He leaned closer to me. "I have a suspicion…that he's the boy in the prophecy."

My eyes went wide. That can't be possible. Oh no. I hurried up the stairs, not bothering to say goodbye to Chiron. He shouted, "First door on the right!"

I followed his instructions, slowing down just as I reached the corridor. I quietly reached for the doorknob when a boy named Castor from the Dionysus cabin dashed to me, holding a tray with a glass of nectar.

"Hi, Castor." I greeted him. He smiled at me.

"Hello, Annabeth," he replied. "I see you've heard about…" he trailed off, but he pointed to the door I was about to open. "The boy isn't too well, I've heard."

I snorted. "From who? The Moon sisters?" I joked. The Moon sisters were the most gossipy people in Camp Half-Blood. They were daughters of Aphrodite, and almost everyone believed their stupid stories. According to Corey, they had a power called 'charmspeak' which only children of Aphrodite can receive. Worthy children. And it's supposed to be very uncommon.

"No," Castor said gently. "From Chiron." He handed the tray to me. "Bye, Annabeth. I'll see you later, I guess. Pollux is at the climbing wall, if you want to see him." And he ran off as quickly as he had come.

Tray in hand, I slowly opened the door. On a bed was a boy, identical to the one in my dream. His satyr, Grover Underwood watched him closely, occasionally turning to the strange bull-like horn on the table.

No, that didn't look like a bull horn. It was clearly the horn of a Minotaur. How did the boy get it? Did he rip it off, as a souvenir? I let out a small snort. What an idiot. No wonder the beast attacked him.

Unfortunately, Grover had heard my snort. His eyes widened in alarm. "O-Oh! Um…" he shifted uncomfortably. He recognized me from a few years ago. He found us—Thalia, Luke and I—while we were fighting monsters. But Thalia died before we got to Camp, so Zeus turned her into a tree. Yes, Thalia's Pine, the very tree that guards our camp. "Hi, Annabeth," he said finally.

"Hi, Grover. It's all right. I'll take over," I replied. He looked very tired to me.

Grover shook his head. "No, no. Annabeth, it's okay. I've got it all under control, don't worry." Grover said nervously. I raised an eyebrow. He added, "He might freak out at the sight of a person."

"And why won't he freak out at the sight of you?"

"First of all, he knows me. And I'm not a person. I'm a satyr," he replied proudly. I snorted. "D-Don't snort, Annabeth. Fine. We watch him together, alright? That's fair."

I nodded. I gestured to the sleeping boy. "What's his name?" I asked even if I had a sneaking suspicion that I already knew.

"His name is Perseus Jackson. Nicknamed Percy." Grover answered. I knew it. I was right! That boy was in my dream. But how could I know about it? I'm no Oracle. I'm just an ordinary child of Athena.

Ordinary. That word struck me. I would prefer to be remembered as _extra_ordinary, but whatever the Fates will, it _will_ happen. Nobody could interfere with their fate. Not even the gods and goddesses. That boy in front of me. Somehow, he's no ordinary demigod. Beneath those eyelids, I believe, are sea-green eyes, just like the boy in my dream.

No. Scratch that. He _was _the boy in my dream, I realized with a chill. From what I heard, no demigod had ever predicted the future before. But that's the problem, I guess. It's not the future. Kissing him…it's probably just a wish.

Yes. A wish. I like the sound of that. Wait. No, I don't. Those Aphrodite kids are just playing tricks on my mind again. Just a few weeks ago, they prophesied:

_The guy of your dreams, soon you will meet,_

_But at first you might not know you are meant to be._

_And if you don't believe the children of Aphrodite,_

_You will soon, just wait and see!_

Hmph. That's impossible. Aphrodite kids are not Oracles. They cannot predict the future. And I'm surprised they could make such good poetry. I made a note in my mind to kill the Apollo kids later.

After about two hours of waiting, Percy Jackson still had not woken up. Sure, he stirred a few times, but he quickly passed out again. "Why don't you go outside for some fresh air? I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon."

"All right. See you."

I made my way to the porch, where Mr. D—actually the wine god, Dionysus—played pinochle with Chiron. I decided not to bother them, so I made my way back to the guest room.

Grover was spoon-feeding him pudding. "Hello, Grover." I greeted him. "Mr. D and Chiron are playing pinochle. So I'm back. You know I'm not really fond of pinochle."

"Hi, Annabeth," said Grover. "You can help me then. My hands are sore." He handed me the bowl of pudding and the teaspoon. The glass of nectar was still on the tray, untouched. "Um, I have to go now. I'll come back later."

I nodded, getting ready to spoon-feed Percy. "Bye, Grover."

It's been ten minutes since Grover left. I wonder where he went. Maybe to play some pinochle with Mr. D and Chiron. Oh well. Percy and I are all alone now. No Grover to bother us.

I smirked as drool dribbled down his chin. I continued spoon-feeding him pudding. A few minutes later, Percy's eyes opened. Slowly but surely. Then, I heard a knock on the door. I quickly fed Percy. It could be Grover, or even Chiron…

No. It was Luke. My cheeks went hot all of a sudden, and I could swear I was blushing.

"Hi, Annabeth," he said. "So this is Percy Jackson?"

I nodded, still unable to speak. I was never really sure if I had 'feelings' for Luke. Now that Percy came along, I'm quite sure that I _do_ have feelings for Luke. Except I'm not sure if they're romantic or friendly. Is that good or bad? Definitely bad.

"Hmm, looks interesting," said Luke. Then he got up and left the room.

Eventually, Grover returned. He told me to go get some air. I had to agree as I started feeling the cramped, trapped feeling one eventually feels when they're stuck in a room alone with an unconscious-but-good-looking boy.

I went down, to the porch, where Chiron and Mr. D were still playing pinochle. They glanced at me for a moment, then, went back to their game. I took a seat in the porch rail next to them, but I still didn't play.

After about an hour or so, Grover and Percy came downstairs. Chiron, Mr. D and I looked up. But the two continued with their card game. "Mr. Brunner!" Percy cried suddenly. Chiron spun around.

Mr. Brunner? Oh, yeah. That's what he said. He was posing as a teacher in Yancy Academy, so he can further 'investigate' Percy. Grover had said he was something special. So that alarmed Chiron and sent him packing to a school with problematic kids—only one of them being a true half-blood.

I saw a gleam in Chiron's eyes. "Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle." He offered Percy a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at him with his red eyes. He sighed.

"Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you." Mr. D snapped. Well, he often does, which causes campers to flinch and avoid him on most occasions.

"Uh, thanks." Percy said, taking a step back.

"Annabeth?" Chiron turned to me. I came forward. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."

I said, "Sure, Chiron." I looked at the horn in Percy's hands. I turned to him. "You drool when you sleep." Then I sprinted off, down the lawn, the image of Percy still in my mind.

I burst into the Hermes cabin, startling everyone. "Luke!" I called for him. He showed up, a grin on his face.

"Hi, Annabeth," Luke greeted me warmly. "Come in, come in. We're sorry if our cabin is a little…" he turned to the others for help, though no help came. "A little messy," he finished. "Come on, sit down."

I shook my head. "No. It's all right. I'm here to check on the bunk of Percy Jackson." I said formally. For a minute, I could have sworn I saw Luke's eye twitch in despise. But I could've been imagining it. But he nodded grudgingly.

"It's right here," he said, pointing to an empty spot on the floor, marked, 'Reserved for Percy Jackson'. I nodded, and headed for the door when Luke stopped me. "Wait, Annabeth. I just want to talk to you for a second." He looked suspiciously at his half-siblings. He walked me out, and didn't stop until we reached the front of the Athena cabin.

"What's wrong, Luke?"

He looked from side to side. "That boy. Percy, was it? He's not good for you." He put his hand on my shoulder. On a normal day, I would've blushed, but not today.

"How do you know? You barely even met him!" I objected, swatting his hand.

"I just know."

"That's not good enough. If you haven't got proof, you better leave me alone!" I screamed at him. Then I quickly opened the door to my cabin, and shut the door behind me. I ran to my bed, and sighed.

I can't believe I just did that. To Luke, of all people.

The next few hours were a blur. Soon, Percy and I were walking down the bathrooms. A big girl, much bigger than me, stopped us. Two other mean-looking girls stood behind her. I groaned. This could only be Clarisse la Rue, daughter of Ares.

"Well! A newbie!"

I sighed. "Clarisse, why don't you go polish your spear or something?" I asked. Seriously, for me, bullying a newbie is just about the worst thing you could do at camp, except for maybe killing. But killing never really happens here, do you think it would, with a god like Dionysus supervising? That guy could really get into your head if you get him wrong.

"Sure, Miss Princess," Clarisse said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."

I cursed at her. "_Err es korakas!"_ which meant, 'Go to the crows!' which I don't think Percy or Chiron would have preferred to hear. But this girl deserved it. I know I shouldn't be cursing in front of a newbie anyway, so I felt kind of bad. "You don't stand a chance."

"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said. Her eye twitched. She turned toward Percy. "Who's this little runt?"

"Percy Jackson," I replied, my courage rising, "meet Clarisse, daughter of Ares." I looked at Percy, waiting for his reaction. He just blinked. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better reaction.

"Like…the war god?"

Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"

"No," said Percy. "It explains the bad smell." Hmph. What a snarky little fellow. I've never met anyone like him before. I suspect he's the son of one of the Big Three.

The Big Three are the three sons of Kronos and Rhea. They comprise of Zeus, the god of all, but mostly the sky, of Poseidon, god of the sea and Hades, god of the dead and the underworld.

Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."

"Percy." Percy corrected.

"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you." Clarisse said.

"Clarisse—" I tried to say, but was quickly cut.

"Stay out of it, wise girl." Clarisse snarled. Percy nodded slowly, and handed me his Minotaur horn. He balled his fists, ready to fight, but Clarisse had him by the neck before he knew it. I moaned. She dragged him to a less than impressive cinder-block building that was the bathroom. I heard some cruel laughs, most of them Clarisse's. I swore I heard Clarisse say, "Like he's 'Big Three' material. Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."

I heard more snickers. I stood in the corner, watching through my fingers. Clarisse bent him over on his knees and started pushing his head toward the toilet bowl. It really smelled bad, like an ordinary public toilet would, but that's not the problem at the moment.

Suddenly, something happened. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Soon, water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over Percy's head. Then, Clarisse loosened her grip on him completely, and left Percy sprawled across the bathroom floor. Clarisse was screaming.

Water burst out of the toilet again, this time hitting Clarisse straight in the face. It was so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her, pushing her backward into a shower stall.

She gasped, and her friends started coming toward her, but the other toilets exploded too, and six more rivers of water pushed them back. The showers also blew up and together all of the utilities sprayed the girls out of the bathroom. As soon as they came out, the water stopped.

I stood there, dripping wet, in awe. There was a dry circle around Percy. He looked quite dry. He stood up. "How did you…" I stuttered.

"I don't know."

We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were lying in the mud. A bunch of other campers had gathered around them. Clarisse gave Percy a look of hatred. "You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."

Percy replied defiantly, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth." Clarisse's friends stopped her from attacking, then, led her to the Ares cabin, cabin five. The other campers soon left. I stared at Percy.

"What?" Percy demanded. "What are you thinking?"

What was I thinking? Oh, a lot of things. "I'm thinking," I replied, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag."

Time passed quickly, and soon we were at the open-air pavilion again.

I got my food. Brisket—again, I know—but there's also cheese and other barbequed foods. My favorite. I fell in line again, and ended up behind Gerry, son of Hephaestus. Soon enough, it was his turn. "Hephaestus." And there goes the food.

"Athena." I said, quickly saying a prayer. Old time habit, I guess. With my fork, I shoved the best piece of brisket off the plate and into the fire. I caught a whiff of it as I turned away: it smelled really good, like…peppermint, rosemary and even strawberries. I sighed in contentment. This day was almost perfect—almost.

I went back to the Athena table. My siblings were there, eating their brisket. I told my goblet, "Give me some lemon C2. Green lemon C2." Green. Why not? It reminded me of Percy.

Percy. I looked at him. He was behind Luke, looking very dazed. He seemed to be having a hard time, but occasionally Luke talked to him, so at least he's getting help.

After dinner, Chiron pounded his hoof to get our attention. Mr. D got up, sighing. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels."

Cheering erupted from the Ares table. "Personally," continued Mr. D, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson." Chiron whispered something to him. "Er, Percy Jackson," he said, correcting himself. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly little campfire. Go on."

Everyone cheered. We headed down toward the amphitheater, where Apollo's cabin did a little sing-along. We sang many good songs, well into the night. Then, the conch horn blew, so we all headed reluctantly to our cabins. Percy, into the Hermes cabin, and me, into the Athena cabin.

I stared at the ceiling, thinking about Percy. Then I realized something with a jolt.

I think I'm falling in love with Perseus Jackson.


End file.
